Super Mario Sunshine Rewritten
by matttob618
Summary: It's Mario Sunshine, but rewritten as a book and changed to have the story be better (in my opinion).
1. Chapter 1 - No Rest For The Plumberly

High above the tropical waters, I was sitting comfortably in Peach's private plane, imagining the fun we were going to have. We had decided to take a vacation, so we packed up and were now on our way.

Our destination: the beautiful Isle Delfino.

Peach was sitting in the seat next to me, watching an advertisement for the island on the TV in the wall in front of us.

"Welcome to the sun-drenched tropical paradise of Isle Delfino!" a voice on the TV said, "We're so pleased to welcome you to our beautiful home! Come enjoy a natural wonder-land to which we've added the world's finest resort facilities, a spectacular amusement park, and succulent seafood! This and more await you on Isle Delfino! Come relax and let us refresh your body and spirit!"

As she watched the advertisement, with its gorgeous panning shots of pristine white beaches and clear blue waters, she couldn't help but look forward to our vacation.

But then, as the commercial was about to end, she saw movement in the background. There was a blue shadow-like figure hiding out behind the large statue in the town square. It reminded her of someone…

She tried to get the attention of Toadsworth, who was in the aisle across from us, but he was dreaming of sweet fruits. She then tried to get mine, but I was peering out the window; the island was now in sight.

In retrospect, I wish I would've payed attention. But there was something off about the island. It seemed… dark.

A few moments later, a grating voice came over the intercom, "Hello! We're sorry, but the plane isn't at another runway! This landing's going to be a bit bumpy, so hold on tight!"

Almost immediately, there was large jolt that nearly sent all of us out of our seats. The plane skidded to a halt on the runway much quicker than usual.

Disoriented, I got up. "Mama mia, what was that about?"

Peach, forgetting about the shadow for the moment, replied, "I don't know... Let's go check it out."

The door opened and the ramp came out of the plane, and we walked down it onto the tarmac, followed by the pilots of the plane, a red Toad and a yellow Toad. We looked down the runway and were surprised to see a very colorful and pulsating goop covering the tarmac.

"What's this icky, paint-like goop?" Asked the red Toad.

"It's… moving!" the yellow Toad added, reaching for it.

"Now now, boys!" Toadsworth pulled them both back. "Don't touch that stuff!"

I inspected the goop. There was something odd about its shape…

"Master Mario," Toadsworth interrupted me, "If you would, cross over to that shore and find some assistance."

I nodded, then started down the airstrip to a group of Piantas, the strange triangle-shaped, palm tree-wearing inhabitants of this island.

"Excuse me, I was hoping you could help us. You see, I'm Mario, and I —"

"You're Mario?" a blue Pianta interrupted. "That's funny, because we just received a package for you."

"Huh?" The Pianta gestured to a package with an awfully familiar logo stamped on its side.

There was a note attached: "Hey bro, Prof. Gadd just made something and said that you'd need it, so he had me mail it to you. I can't make heads or tails of it; what do you think? From, Luigi."

I began to pry open the box.

"Say…" the Pianta began thinking, "you look familiar… how long have you been here?"

"I just got here. Did you not see the plane land?"

The Pianta looked down the runway and scratched his head. "Huh, I didn't."

Finally, the box opened. Inside, there was a large tank filled with water, but it had a lot of modifications. From the top of the tank protruded a large spray nozzle with a camera and speaker on the side; there were straps on the sides of the tank, and two hand-grips with buttons on the ends; and on the side of its chassis were the letters "F.L.U.D.D." written in golden ink.

Suddenly, the nozzle oriented itself to have its camera facing me. I leapt back in surprise as a voice crackled from the speaker:

"Power-up complete. Thank you for purchasing this item from Gadd Science, Incorporated. Preparing to register customer information. Scanning and classifying subject data… subject identified as Mario, resident of the Mushroom Kingdom. Data storage complete. I am FLUDD — a Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device. I hope to be of assistance. Proceeding with user instruction. Please put your arms through the straps and adjust them as needed."

Hesitantly, I complied. I found that the device was surprisingly lightweight, and it didn't strain my back as much as I'd thought it would. Suddenly, it began rattling off instructions at breakneck speed:

"Press the trigger on the right handle to shoot water from my tank. If you press the right trigger all the way down, you can then swivel the right handle to aim in any direction. Press the trigger on the left handle to switch to the Hover Nozzle. You can then press the right trigger to hover in the air for a short time. If this tank is empty, no water can be sprayed. To refill tank, enter a body of water and press the right trigger. Instructions complete. Proceed!"

My head spun as I struggled to retain all the information. What was I even doing this for?

"Master Mario, what is taking so long?" Toadsworth called.

Oh, right.

I rejoined the others, who were immediately fascinated by the device on my back.

"My, that is quite an unusual device…" Toadsworth inspected it. "Is it some sort of pump?"

FLUDD answered, "I am FLUDD. Glad to meet you."

While they marveled over my device, Peach noticed something in the distance.

Standing atop a building was the blue shadow creature she'd seen on the TV.

But now she could see that it was holding a large paintbrush.

"Guys!" Peach quickly shouted, turning to get our attention. We looked at where she pointed —

And saw nothing.

"I saw someone — a blue shadow creature, up on that roof! I know I did!"

Toadsworth replied, "Oh, pardon my saying so, Princess, but I'm sure it was the heat. There are a lot of blue things around here; it's an island, after all!"

I wasn't so sure.

Suddenly, there was a horrible squelching sound. We turned and looked at the goo, which was now rippling heavily. A large portion of it coagulated in the center, where it took the form of a Piranha Plant-like being.

Peach screamed, "What is that thing?!"

Toadsworth observed, "It looks like some sort of Painty Piranha Plant!"

"Mario!" FLUDD chimed in, "Shoot water into its mouth!"

I looked at him quizzically, and his nozzle moved up and down in a nodding fashion. Unsure, I leapt towards the enemy and pulled the right trigger, which shot a concentrated stream of water towards its open mouth. The moment it hit, the beast started to flail around in agony, until it disintegrated into a small pool of paint. I washed the remaining goop away, and sighed in relief.

"Wow, Mario!" Peach cheered.

"Hey, someone's coming!" the red Toad interrupted us.

We looked to where he pointed, and saw that two cops were marching in unison towards us.

"Why, hello, officers!" I said as they approached, "What can I do for you?"

And then they cuffed me.

"What the-?"

"You are under arrest for city-wide vandalism and Grand Theft Shine."

They began to drag me away, reading me my rights. Peach and the Toads quickly followed.

Something was definitely afoot.


	2. Chapter 2 - Trial by Color

"Court is now in session! The honorable Judge Kukui presiding!"

I was sat in the Delfino Plaza Courthouse, but this time, I was in the Defendant's chair, Peach and Toadsworth right beside me as my attorneys.

An attorney read out the case file: "As you are no doubt aware, someone has been senselessly defacing fair Isle Delfino using some paint-like substance. The accused is charged with polluting our beautiful home and yes, endangering our very way of life."

He rolled a projector in and brought down a screen from the front of the Judge's stand. "Indeed, how can one not be aware of what is going on?" He moved to the first slide, which showed Delfino Plaza, shrouded in darkness. "Though it is daytime in Delfino Plaza, our poor residents tremble beneath a veil of darkness. Expert Shine scholars have determined that this darkness has arisen because all of our guardians, the Shine Sprites, vanished from their gathering spot at the Shine Gate five days ago." He moved to the second slide, which showed a Shine Sprite. "The reason? It's quite obvious. This horrible graffiti is to blame! Behold Exhibit A: the sketch of the perpetrator based on the only eyewitness description we have, which came from a colorblind Pianta named Steve."

He moved to the third slide, which made me gasp. The sketch was of me!

"And Exhibit B, the graffiti laid down upon our beloved airstrip."

He moved on to the fourth and final slide, which showed exactly that, but from a bird's eye view. I was shocked when I realized that the paint also looked just like me!

"The truth is obvious: The guilty party sits among us. It is none other than Mario!"

Everyone in the courtroom gasped, myself included. The attorney sat down.

Judge Kukui turned to Peach and said, "Does the defense wish to make a statement?"

"He didn't do it!" Peach blurted out.

"Calm down, Princess," Toadsworth pulled her back, "and let me handle this."

Toadsworth stood up. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I must say that, while the evidence does stack heavily in his favor, the plaintiff has not given the full story. We arrived on the Delfino Airstrip at 09:00 hours this morning, far later than the given time of the Shines' disappearance. And as soon as we arrived, Mario took no hesitation in clearing up the goop there."

The jury muttered amongst themselves.

"So, with due consideration, I do hope that you will find my friend not guilty of the crimes charged."

Toadsworth sat back down.

"The prosecution calls Princess Peach Toadstool to the stand!"

Peach walked up the stand and swore to tell the truth and so on.

"Now, Miss Toadstool —"

"You can just call me Peach."

"Right. Peach, where were you at 09:00 hours this morning?"

"I had just arrived at the airstrip on my plane."

"And you're certain that your friend Mario did not create the graffiti?"

"Yes. In fact, I have an idea as to who did."

Mario and Toadsworth looked at each other apprehensively.

"Really? And might I ask who?"

"The shadow man, of course."

There was audible chuckling coming from the jury. The judge glared at them, and they stopped and started to mutter amongst themselves. Toadsworth put his face in his hands.

"I can show you him! Bring up that travel advertisement!"

The attorney shrugged and obliged, pressing some buttons until the projector showed the ad.

"Pause it at the end!"

The attorney did so, and she pointed at the shadow. "See?"

The attorney looked at the fuzzy shape. "No, that's just Background Brandon. He likes to appear in the backgrounds of things. Like this court proceeding." He gestured to the corner of the room where, indeed, Background Brandon was.

"I- what?!" Now Peach was starting to doubt herself. Was she just still on edge from all the kidnappings?

"So there you have it: a woman who believes a shadow man is impersonating her boyfriend. Not to get too political, but it doesn't really seem fitting for her to run a country, does it?"

"Objection!" Toadsworth called out, "Improper impeachment!"

"Sustained. Mr. Openshaw, please sit down."

The prosecutor sat down.

"I'm not sure about this," Toadsworth said to them, "It seems like they've got this."

"Oh, have a little faith," Peach told him, "I'm sure they'll see that Mario's as innocent as a newborn baby!"

Toadsworth chuckled. "You obviously haven't met my grandkids!"

"Has the jury reached a decision?"

"We have, your honor."

We looked on in anticipation.

"We find the defendant guilty."

I gasped, finding myself unable to move from the shock.

"I hereby sentence the defendant to clean this entire island and locate every Shine. Until Isle Delfino is completely free of his vile handiwork, and all 120 Shines are returned to the Shine Gate, Mario shall not be allowed to leave! Court adjourned."

The Pianta cops then took me by the arms, and I was led out of the courtroom.


	3. Chapter 3 - Long Job, Short Chapter

"Name: Mario Jumpman Mario; Height: 155 cm; Weight: 89 kg; Age: mid-30's."

The Pianta then took inventory of my possessions. "Possessions: One Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device; three mushrooms of questionable origin; one wallet containing a driver's license, a Yoshi-breeding permit, 39 Mushroom Kingdom coins, and seven photos of a woman and himself, along with cake; and finally, an outfit consisting of one red newsboy cap with an M monogrammed on it, a red shirt, white gloves, blue overalls, and brown work boots."

With that, they led me to my cell. I'd never been in jail before.

And it was even worse than I'd thought.

The next morning, an officer came to my cell. "Alright, come with me," he said in a gruff voice.

I followed him outside, where he handed me the FLUDD. "Go straight that way. You can't miss the mess, pal! Your first job's to get rid of all the ugliness. And remember, we'll be watching you, pal. We'll know if you start slacking off."

I sighed and began the walk. They were right; it was really dark. I rounded the corner, gasping at the ocean of paint that lay in front of me. This was going to take a while.

I turned on FLUDD.

"Powering up complete. Greeting, Mario. What has happened since I was last on?"

"Hey, FLUDD. I got sentenced to clean up all the graffiti on the island and return all the Shines."

"Oh. Well, I do hope to be of assistance."

"I certainly couldn't do this without you."

I filled FLUDD and got to work spraying the goop.

"Mario!"

I turned at the voice of Peach and saw her coming towards me with Toadsworth. "Hey, guys," I tried to say cheerfully, but it came out broken.

"We're sorry that our vacation started out this way. But hey, we're gonna wait until you're done before we do anything."

"No, that's okay. You don't have to do that. Go enjoy your vacation."

"But Mario —"

"No, I insist. I'll be fine." I then continued to clear the paint.

Peach looked distraught.

"Princess, look!" Toadsworth called, pointing at the large statue.

We looked, and gasped.

Standing atop the statue was the blue shadow figure. It had a large resemblance to me, save for the obvious color difference, and his glowing red eyes. He was holding a large paintbrush, which was presumably what he made the graffiti with.

Peach pumped her fist. "I knew it! I told you!"

"Um, Princess?" Toadsworth apprehensively said, "He's staring right at you…"

Suddenly, the Shadow Mario leapt off the statue and made a beeline straight for Peach. Almost instinctively, I began running at him, but he was too quick; he picked up Peach and began to run off.

"Mario!" she shouted.

"Peach!" I began to chase them, but it was like Peach's added weight made no difference to the Shadow Mario's speed. For every two steps I took, he took three.

"Mario!" FLUDD chimed in, "Use me! He appears to be made of paint, so water would no doubt hurt him!"

Still running, I oriented the nozzle and sprayed, blasting the Shadow Mario off of his feet and knocking Peach out of his grip. He gargled in pain, then got up and began to run back to the town square.

"Peach!" I began.

"I'm fine, Mario; just stop him, quickly!"

I turned and chased him.

He stopped at the statue in the center of the town square, then brandished his paintbrush and slathered paint onto the base and —

Jumped in?

I didn't have time to question the logic of it; I just jumped in after him.


	4. Chapter 4 - Bianco Hills Blitz

Visions of color flooded my eyes; a sensation of being liquefied; a feeling of moving through space-time.

And then I was standing.

Taking a moment to reorient myself, I looked around. I was in a city on a completely different part of the island. It reminded me of the portal paintings that Princess Peach kept locked up in her Castle.

I had little time to think, however; Shadow Mario was escaping into the hills. I began to run after him, but soon found myself slipping and sliding down a watery slope that dumped me into a small river.

I climbed onto the river bank and looked around, but Shadow Mario was nowhere to be found. "Oh, Spaghetti!" I exclaimed.

I needed to find him, I just needed to. For the sake of justice.

I looked up to FLUDD. "FLUDD, where am I?"

FLUDD perked up, then scanned around. "Sources tell me that this is Bianco Hills."

"What sources?"

"That sign over there."

I looked, and indeed saw a sign welcoming visitors to Bianco Hills. "Oh."

Suddenly, FLUDD let out a siren noise. "Shine detected! Shine detected!" He pointed his nozzle in the direction of a wall that separated the area from another. Collecting Shines was part of my sentence, so I decided to go look for it.

I skillfully leapt over the wall and into a larger field, where I saw a lot of paint on the ground. I groaned.

"Might I make a suggestion?" FLUDD piped up. "Spin while repeatedly tapping the right trigger to clear out large areas around you quickly."

"Thanks, FLUDD!" I began to do so, and the water sprayed out all around me, quickly clearing a large portion of the paint.

But quickly, I had to stop, because I had gotten dizzy. "Mama Mia, I'd better stop before I lose my lunch!"

"Illogical. It is 08:25; you have not had lunch yet."

"It's just an expression meaning 'before I throw up'."

"Understood. Adding 'before I lose my lunch' to sayings database."

I chuckled. I didn't know why, but I found FLUDD to be kinda quirky.

I continued to spray away the paint until I reached a bridge with a large coagulation of the stuff in front of it. The paint shuddered at the water, then formed into another Paint Piranha Plant. I shot into its mouth, and it disintegrated. The paint in the surrounding area evaporated, and a golden sun-like item came from the resting place of the paint beast.

"Shine! Shine!" FLUDD called out repeatedly.

"I'm guessing that's a Shine." I said sarcastically.

FLUDD stopped repeating. "Excuse me, I must've short-circuited. What I meant was, 'Shine found. Good job, Mario'."

I chuckled, then took the Shine in my hand. A surge of energy flowed through me, and I couldn't help but pull a pose and shout, "Oh yeah!"

Then unexpectedly, the Shine started lifting me upwards. I clung on for dear life as we soared through the sky, straight back to Delfino Plaza. It booted me off just next to the statue, then started to float towards the Shine Gate.

"Mario!" Toadsworth and Peach ran up to me. "What happened to you? Where'd he go?"

"I think I was transported to another city…"

"Really?" Peach was intrigued. "That sounds like the —"

"The paintings locked away in your castle, I know."

Suddenly, it became a bit brighter. I looked at the Shine Gate and saw the Shine I'd collected now swirling around it, clearing away some of the darkness.

Suddenly, a large mitt-like hand tapped my shoulder. I turned and saw one of the cops standing behind me. "Who said you could laze around? Get back to work!"

"Officer," Toadsworth began, "Did you not see the Shadow Mario run through town, Princess Peach in tow?"

"No, I didn't. And frankly, I don't believe you, so please don't talk back to me." And with that, he left.

"My, what an unpleasant fellow…" Toadsworth stated.

I just sighed, and continued to clear away the paint.


	5. Chapter 5 - Battle Against a True Petey

I wiped the sweat from my forehead. I had just finished clearing the paint from town square (apart from the graffiti on the statue, which I showed the cops that it only got bigger with water), and was about to start on the beachfront. I began to walk towards the sand, but suddenly, FLUDD shouted, "Shine detected! Shine detected!" He pointed his nozzle at the statue. I looked at him, then made sure I knew what he was pointing at by moving to the side. His aim stayed fixed on the portal.

"You're detecting another Shine? And through the paint?" I asked him.

"I am detecting seven Shines through the paint."

"Seven?! Why didn't you detect them the first time?"

"They weren't accessible at that point."

I blinked. "Seriously, how does that scanner work?"

"It runs on plot convenience and Video Game Logic."

"Oh… Wait, what?"

"Just get in."

I shrugged, and jumped back through. Another trippy experience later, I was back at Bianco Hills, only this time, things seemed different. For one thing, a large gate was now opened, allowing me to access the other side of the wall without having to jump over it. And for another, the path on which I found the first Shine was now raised at the end, and there was a bridge leading to a large windmill on a hill (Though the windmill was there before; I just didn't feel the need to mention it).

And standing atop the windmill was a giant humanoid Piranha Plant (not made of paint this time), a Shine Sprite glowing in his hand/frond/leaf/thing.

I ran forward, taking extra care not to slip and fall down the wet slope, and leapt onto a log that was floating in the river. The momentum of my landing caused the log to pivot, and when it pivoted back, it launched me up, allowing me to land on a large, horizontally-stretched wire (don't ask me why it didn't electrocute me or how it supported my weight; I don't know, either). I bounced until I was able to launch myself high up into the air. I pressed the trigger on FLUDD's left handle, changing his nozzle to the what he called the 'Hover Nozzle'. Water came gushing out, causing me to stay airborne.

For a couple of seconds. Then the water stopped, and I started to plummet.

I grabbed onto the wire on my way down, which caused it to break. FLUDD and I screamed as we swung on the wire and were flung forward, landing and skidding to a halt on the grass.

"Why did you even try doing that?!" FLUDD asked, surprisingly sounding mad.

"I thought I could hover straight to that Piranha Plant and skip all the platforming!"

"Didn't you hear my tutorial earlier? 'You can then press the right trigger to hover in the air for a short time'!"

"Well, I know that now! Ugh, let's just walk there."

I got up, wincing at some bruises, and began to head towards the Windmill.

Along the path, there were many challenges, including dodging rolling paint boulders, spraying small Piranha Plants, and jumping across four big red balls lined in a row (no wait, I'm thinking of something else). Finally, I hitched a ride on the windmill's blades and rode them all the way to the top. I leapt onto the roof, and looked up at the behemoth in front of me. He seemed smaller when I was looking at him from the hill.

The Piranha Plant chuckled. Then, surprisingly, it spoke: "I'm Petey Piranha, and you are?"

I was slightly taken aback. "I'm Mario. I'm here to get that Shine you've got, and bring it back to Delfino Plaza."

"Why?"

"I've been wrongly accused of a crime, so —"

"So you're gonna steal something to try and prove your innocence? That's incredibly counterproductive. You're weird; Get lost!"

"But it doesn't belong to you! Heck, what are you even doing up here with it?"

"I'm trying to look for more. I saw a bunch fall into the area from the sky, but I didn't see where they landed, and so far, I've only been able to find this one — which I'm GOING to keep!"

"No! It belongs to the Piantas of Delfino Plaza!" I was getting mad.

"I found it! It's MINE!" He punctuated that by stomping his foot in anger.

But unfortunately, his large size and weight gave his stomp incredible power, and the roof began to crack beneath us. We looked at each other for a moment, then screamed as it collapsed and we fell in.

"Mario!" FLUDD shouted, reminding me that I still had him, and he was still on the Hover Nozzle. I pulled the trigger, and he sprayed water down, allowing me to slow my descent and land with a gentle thud.

Petey, on the other hand, landed hard. But he was a big guy, and a plant, so he was able to survive without any major injuries.

He got up. "Now look what you made me do! The windmill's broken! Where am I supposed to scout from now?!" He growled in anger, practically foaming at the mouth.

Actually, something was coming out of his mouth in his anger. But it wasn't foam —

It was paint?

"You want this Shine so badly? Then you can have it — when you pry it from my cold, dead hands!"

He hocked up a large wad of paint in my direction, but I dodged it, as there was a lot of room inside. For a windmill, there sure was a lack of actual windmill parts. The only things in the room were us and a system of pipes that broke when Petey fell, and was now pouring water out. I refilled FLUDD using this, then started running towards Petey.

"Mario! Aim for the mouth, and give it all you've got!" FLUDD shouted. I nodded.

Switching FLUDD's nozzle back to 'Spray', I waited for an opening. When Petey readied another ball of paint to spit at me, I pulled the trigger and sprayed directly into his mouth, not stopping until the tank was empty. He practically ballooned up with water, becoming sluggish, and eventually toppling over. It was a rather cartoonish sight to behold.

"I'm not finished yet!" He said, straining. "Just gotta… get up…" He tried to get up, but he was too heavy.

FLUDD shouted, "Now's your chance! Ground pound on his belly!"

"What? Ew, no!"

"That's the only way you'll be able to defeat him!"

"How do you know?"

"Do you not see the giant red arrow?!"

I looked, and sure enough, there was a giant red arrow pointing directly at his distended belly (I still don't know what caused it). Sighing, I begrudgingly jumped up and ground pounded the spot. The water practically exploded out of his mouth, and he screamed in pain.

FLUDD cheered, "Good job, Mario! Now, do it two more times!"

"NO!" Petey shouted. "Alright, I give up! Just take it!" He practically threw the Shine at me, then rubbed his aching body. "You guys are weirdos!"

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" FLUDD said, a hint of smugness in his voice.

Petey groaned and coughed, then flapped his arms/fronds/leaves/wings?!/things and took off, leaving us with the Shine. I grabbed it and pulled a pose, and with that, I was out of there.


	6. Chapter 6 - Ricco Harbor Havoc

The Shine set me down in Town Square again, then it flew to the Shine Gate and joined the other one in circling around it. The world got a bit brighter.

"Why does it bring me back here every time?" I asked FLUDD.

FLUDD scanned the area for intel. "Sources tell me that it can only find its way home by tagging along with someone who knows where it belongs. Like a kid walking through the woods with his parents."

I was about to question if the Shines were alive (they did have eyes, now that I think about it), when the Pianta cop came back, his walkie talkie going berserk with panicked voices on the other ends.

He awkwardly began, "So, uh, funny story… We may have just learned that the shadow Mario is real."

I looked at FLUDD, excited.

Then I got concerned. "Wait, what happened that proved it to you?"

"While you were in that paint splotch, he appeared from the sewer, and he may have captured Princess Peach."

"What?!" FLUDD and I shouted simultaneously.

"He grabbed her and headed for the Blue Coin Shop on the west side of the city. I –"

Before he could finish, I began running to the location. When I got there, there was another paint portal on the side of the building. Without hesitation, I jumped in.

I found myself standing on a large concrete platform on the west side of a large port. Before I asked FLUDD, I looked around for a sign, and spotted one. It said, "Welcome to Ricco Harbor, Delfino Island's largest (and only) port city."

"Ricco Harbor, eh?" I looked up at the impressive display before me. There were docks, a cargo ship, shipping containers, a water tower, and a ton of cranes, gurders, and scaffolding randomly built over the water, which was polluted with paint. Normally, I would've been intimidated by the amount of platforming I'd have to do to get anywhere, but with FLUDD on my back, it should've been a piece of cake.

"Mario, look!" FLUDD shouted, pointing his nozzle towards the cargo ship. Standing atop it was the shadow Mario, Peach tied up and struggling beside him.

"Let me go!" She shouted at her assailant. "I was A-tier in Melee; I know how to kick your butt!"

Shadow Mario only laughed silently.

I began to run towards him. Vaulting over the side of the ship, I leapt onto scaffolding that was forming a cage on the deck. Shadow Mario, who was in a much better position movement-wise, leapt onto a nearby gurder and began to run down it. I followed suit, trying to spray him with water as we went. He leapt over a gap much higher than any human could've managed, landing cleanly on the other side, and ran towards a maze of grates and gurders (How anyone got any work done there, I'll never know).

I leapt, switched FLUDD to his hover nozzle, and hovered the rest of the way over the gap, nearly slipping on the other side. I tried to spray him with more water, but he bluffed me and ran a different direction than I'd thought he would.

Then I got an idea. I sprayed the gurders until they were slick with water, then carefully continued chase. When he ran over the wet area, he slipped and fell off, straight into the water below. I looked down as his form started to melt away, and —

Suddenly, an unmarked boat zoomed in from the west and stopped right over him. After a moment, it roared off, Shadow Mario on board.

"Who was that?" I wondered, then remembered that Peach was still tied up on the ship. I made my way back (making sure not to slip) and landed on the ship, untying her.

"Where's that no-good kidnapper?! I'll teach him a lesson!" She was fuming. I'd never seen her this mad, not even during the 20-or-so Bowser incidents!

"I made him fall into the water, but a boat came and rescued him."

Peach made a 'hrmph' sound, crossing her arms.

"We should probably get back to Delfino Plaza; Toadsworth must be worried sick!"

"He went to the hotel just before I was captured. If I know him, he'll be sleeping, completely oblivious to everything that just happened."

I chuckled. Then, I noticed something shiny caught in the cage on the ship. It was another Shine, almost completely hidden by some boxes!

"Another Shine! FLUDD, why didn't you detect it?"

"I was too preoccupied with helping you rescue the Princess."

I led Princess Peach to the cage, where I found a panel that I could open and use to get in. We both touched the Shine, did poses, and it lifted us both away (luckily, the panel was directly above the Shine, so we just went through it).

When we returned (this Shine setting us down right next to that Portal), we saw a crowd of Piantas waiting for us, which included Judge Kukui, the Pianta Cops, and a Pianta in a suit.

The latter came up to us. "I'm Mayor Palmer. Are you Mario Mario?"

"That's-a me!" I replied, internally chuckling at my in-joke.

"Well, with recent evidence, it has come to our attention that you are, in fact, not responsible for the graffiti, or the Shines' disappearance. And so, on behalf of everyone that has wronged you, I'm officially Pardoning you."

"Really?" Peach and I said simultaneously.

His assistant brought forward paperwork, and he signed it. "It's official. You're free to go."

Peach and I cheered, then I thought for a moment. "Actually, I'd like to finish the work I started."

The crowd, including Peach, gasped.

"This 'Shadow Mario' is targeting us specifically. I need to find out who or what he is, what he wants with Peach, and why he tried to ruin my reputation. I'll happily help collect the Shines and clean the island while I'm at it."

The crowd cheered, amazed that I was still willing to help them. Peach, understanding, nodded.

I continued, "Until I figure all this out, please keep Peach safe."

The cops nodded. "We'll post cops outside her hotel room, and have one with her whenever she goes out. Oh, and take this:" He handed me a radio set so that I could learn of any developments.

I saluted them, and they saluted back. Then I nodded to FLUDD, and we jumped back into Ricco Harbor.


	7. Chapter 7 - Squiddy Pity

I landed on the same tarmac as before, and looked around, expecting things to change like they did in Bianco Hills. Everything seemed the same, apart from a few shipping containers being moved, a few more boats here and there, and the water tower was now being used by a group of Piantas that were trying to clean up the polluted harbor.

FLUDD piped up, "Shine detected!", and pointed his nozzle towards the raised part of the harbor, past said water tower. I vaulted back onto the boat and crossed it to get to the other section of the Harbor. Refilling FLUDD's tank in a fountain (despite being right next to the OCEAN), I then vaulted onto the raised area, and began heading towards a particularly large cluster of crates, but was stopped by a Pianta in a hard hat.

"Woah, woah, woah! No tourists or civilians allowed up here! That's why we built this up so high, see?"

"Well, I'm on a mission to recollect all the Shines, and FLUDD here detects one in those shipping crates."

"I'm sorry, but no means no. There's some kind of squid creature sleeping amidst those crates, and the last time we tried to wake it up, it crushed three workers, see?" He took off his hat solemnly and mumbled, "Rest in peace, Larry, Curly, and Moe..."

"Mayor Palmer sent me. You can call and ask if you want."

The mention of the Mayor's name made him jump. "He did?! Well, why didn't you say so? Go right ahead, but be careful, see?"

He stepped aside, and I began to walk towards the creature. A stream of paint was seeping from between the crates and running straight into the water. I put two and two together and figured that this was what was polluting the water.

Now, I was about five feet away from the ceates, and bubbly snoring was now audible. I spied a tentacle peeking out between two crates.

"Mario," FLUDD said, "Pull on the tentacle; that should wake him up."

I sighed, and grabbed it (luckily, I still had my gloves, so I didn't have any problem with touching or gripping it), giving a sharp tug. No response. I pulled back harder. Still no response. I began to pull even harder, getting fed up.

Then it broke off.

I fell backward at the sudden snap, then I heard a blood-curdling scream. The crates jostled around as the creature woke up, felt that its arm had been ripped off, and was now writhing in agony and seething in rage. Then, the creature lashed out with all of its remaining tentacles, hitting away the crates and revealing a 15-foot tall Blooper with a cork in its mouth, 5 intact tentacles, and one stump that was gushing paint in place of blood.

**"WHO RIPPED OFF MY ARM!?"** he shouted through the cork, then he spied me, my hands still on his severed limb. **"YOU! YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT!"**

I barely managed to roll away as he swung his tentacles at me. "I'm sorry, I was just trying to wake you; I didn't think it would break!"

**"LIES!"** He screamed, swinging his tentacles in a helicopter motion. I leapt up and hovered.

"Mario!" FLUDD gurgled through the spray, "Flatten his tentacles, and rip them off!"

I nodded, then stopped hovering and landed on one of his tentacles, flattening it. He screeched in pain as I pulled with all of my might, ripping that one off as well.

**"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!"** He shouted, **"I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A NAP!"**

"You've got a Shine, and I need to return them all to Delfino Plaza!" I flattened another one of his arms.

**"NO, PLEASE! JUST TAKE IT!"** He cried, reaching under him and throwing the Shine at me.

"And will you find a different place to sleep so you don't pollute the entire harbor?"

**"YES, YES! JUST STOP PULLING OFF MY ARMS!"**

I let go of his tentacle and backed off. He panted, then added, **"YOU'RE SICK! YOU KNOW THAT, RIGHT? AND IT'S NOT MY FAULT THAT I HAVE GLANDULAR PROBLEM!"** And with that, he used his remaining tentacles to drag himself to the ledge, then leapt into the water and swam away. I actually felt kinda bad for him.

Still, he was hurting the Piantas, and he attacked me. Plus, it seemed like he had some anger issues (and he wouldn't stop screaming).

I took the Shine, etc., and flew back to Delfino Plaza.


	8. Chapter 8 - Crisis at Gelato Beach!

As I flew back to Delfino Plaza, I noticed a new structure on the Eastern side, a lighthouse. A crowd of Piantas was gathering around it. I landed next to the portal, and headed over to them.

"What's going on?" I asked one of them when I arrived.

"The lighthouse reappeared! It disappeared when the Shines did, but now it's back!"

"Thank you," I said.

"It's all in a day's work for Jim Exposition!" he said proudly, then turned back to stare at the lighthouse.

I made my way through the crowd, moving towards the lighthouse, but was stopped by police barricades that made a perimeter around it. There were cops holding the perimeter, and scientists scanning the building itself, trying to figure out what had happened.

I stood back and watched as they talked with their supervisor about how everything seemed to be normal, but then a scream from the back of the crowd caught everyone's attention. Everyone in the crowd turned and screamed, but I couldn't see over them. Then they all started panicking and running about wildly, and I struggled not to get trampled. A blackish-blue figure whizzed past, and I instantly recognized it as Shadow Mario. I tried to give chase, but couldn't work my way through the crowd (I don't know how he could). I managed to catch a glimpse of him creating a portal on the lighthouse before a large body hit me, knocking me out.

When I came to, it was near sunset, and the beach was almost entirely deserted, save for the scientists, cops, the Mayor, and a doctor, who was making sure I wasn't dead.

"Are you alright, Mario?" The Mayor asked.

I held my throbbing head in my hand. "Mama Mia, I feel like I got hit by a truck. What happened?"

"You got hit by Truck, the island's Heavyweight Champion, and blacked out."

I sighed at the irony.

The doctor finished treating my wounds, and I got up, but I realized that FLUDD was no longer on my back. "Where's FLUDD?!"

One of the scientists came up, carrying FLUDD. "We're trying our best, but it seems like he's going to be out of commission for a while." He gestured to the rest of the scientists, who were crowding around FLUDD. FLUDD was badly damaged, with a broken tank and bent shaft (And that's just what I could see), and the scientists were trying to figure out how to fix him.

I went over as fast as I could (what with my bruises), and knelt next to him.

"Mario," he rasped, his voice clogged with static, "get him."

"What?"

"Get Shadow Mario. He stole one of my parts when he whizzed by, and I can't properly function without it."

"O-okay..."

I shakily stood up, walked to the portal, and went in.

I found myself on a small island a few feet from the shore of a serene beach. There were palm trees, a large amount of weird duck-like creatures roaming the sands, some small plants that looked dehydrated, a path leading up to a plaza on the hill, and three solar panels surrounding a tower that had a large egg in an opening. There was also a sign on the side of the tower that read, "Welcome to Gelato Beach, home of the Cataquacks and the mythical Sand Bird's Egg!"

Without FLUDD, this might be harder than the last two places.

I then spied Shadow Mario atop one of the solar panels, laughing at me and holding up the part he stole. Suddenly, he stuck out a very long tongue and waggled it in my general direction (don't know why, it's probably a cultural thing). I ran towards him, but surprisingly, he continued to waggle his tongue, staying where he was.

What was his game?

I jumped onto the solar panel he was on, but suddenly, he leapt up and did a ground pound, causing the whole thing to pivot, and launching me straight into the giant egg (which cracked it). Luckily, it only hurt slightly, so I was able to get up without any problems. He leapt onto the second one (without his weight, the first one pivoted so it reflected the sunlight straight at the egg), and I followed suit, only this time, I was on the higher end, so I ground pounded, launching HIM into the egg instead. This was when I realized what he was doing:

He was trying to get me to break open the egg.

Before I could act further, he leapt onto the third solar panel (this one having some Cataquacks on it), and started playing around with the part he stole. It looked like he was trying to figure out how to most effectively break it, but then he realized something. He went over to one of the Cataquacks (which seemed somewhat friendly to him) and held up the part, trying to get it to eat it.

Trap or no, I had to stop him.

I leapt over to the third panel, and he immediately ground pounded it, which once again sent me straight into the bird egg.

And it broke.

My head spinning, I looked up as a baby bird made entirely out of sand spread its wings, broke the top of the tower (which revealed a Shine that had somehow gotten stuck in there), and took off into the dusk sky.

Suddenly, I felt something metallic hit my lap. I looked down and saw the part (which I now saw was labelled 'McGuffin') sitting there. I looked at Shadow Mario, but he was already gone.

He had gotten what he wanted.


	9. Chapter 9 - The Sand Bird Rises

I rode the Shine back to the Lighthouse, then ran over to FLUDD (the scientists had managed to fix the shaft and replace the glass). He told me where to put it and how to install it (thankfully, I'm a plumber, so I could understand his directions; but it took so long to explain that I'm not going to bother writing it), and I did so. He whirred back to full health, and I stood him upright.

"Thank you, Mario!" he cheered, "I never doubted you!"

"You're we–" I began, but a booming bird call interrupted me. We all looked up and gasped.

There, soaring about 20 feet above us, was a fully-grown Sand Bird.

Before we could react (I never even got to put FLUDD on my back), it swooped down and picked up FLUDD and me in its gritty beak, and carried us off.

I struggled to breathe as I was sinking through the sand. This was it, I thought, This was how I died: Being suffocated inside a bird made out of sand. A pretty unique way to die, now that I think about it.

But unexpectedly, a large clump of sand congregated underneath me, pushing me up onto the bird's back. I coughed up some sand, looked up, and gasped.

The view was incredible from up here. I could see the entirety of Isle Delfino (it really was shaped like a dolphin!), and all the cities that we'd been to, plus some more we hadn't been to yet, and some we probably never would go to.

FLUDD turned to look at the Sand Bird's head and asked, "Why'd you abduct us like that?"

I looked at FLUDD quizzically, then remembered that it wouldn't be the strangest thing that had talked today.

She turned her head to look at us, and squawked.

Then she cleared her throat and said, "Sorry, got something stuck in my throat. I'm Eldoris, and I picked you up because I need someone to help me find my baby."

"Your baby?"

"Yes, my baby! I left his egg on that tower in Gelato Beach, then I went out to find some food, but when I came back, the egg had broken, and he was gone!"

I chuckled, "Yeah, sorry, I was fighting a criminal, and he sorta launched me into the egg, hatching your son, and he sorta flew away."

She seemed to become worried. "Oh no, this is bad! If he wanders into a bad neighborhood, or he starts sucking on something he's not supposed to, he could get hurt, or worse!"

I looked at FLUDD, who nodded, and I said, "We'll help you find your baby."

"Oh, thank you so much! Where did he seem to be headed off to?"

"It looked like he was headed west... Or was it east?" I didn't know, as I wasn't the best at navigating (that's probably why it usually takes me 8 worlds just to get to Bowser's Castle).

Suddenly, FLUDD swiveled his head towards the island and stated, "Scanning..." A 'ding' noise came out, and he said, "The baby sand bird is currently in Pinna Park."

"Yeah, that works, too," I chuckled.

Eldoris said, "Hold on tight!"

I asked, "To what?"

In response, she formed some of her sand into a seat. I gladly held on as she dove down, gaining incredible speed, and soared through the night sky towards Pinna Park.

Meanwhile, in Princess Peach's hotel room (she told me this later)…

Princess Peach was happily sleeping in her bed. The cops stationed outside were sleeping as well.

This was a bad thing, as they never noticed the blueish-black figure that had just snuck into the room.


	10. Chapter 10 - Pinna Park's Surprise

We arrived in Pinna Park, Eldoris setting us down just by the entrance. We could already see the baby Sand Bird, which was sucking on the top of the carousel. Luckily, the park was closed at the moment, so the only Piantas there were the Security Officers, who were just staring at it in bewilderment.

"There you are, my little baby!" She cooed to her child.

He looked up and recognized that she was the same species as him, and he waddled up to her. "Mama?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm your mama." She hugged him, and they had a tender moment of reunion.

I took off my hat in awe.

Eldoris then turned to look at me. "Oh, how can we ever repay you?" She then got an idea. She reached into herself and pulled out a Shine, then placed it next to us. "Here. I don't know what it is, but I'm sure you'll know what to do with it."

I looked at it, then back at her. "Why, thank you, ma'am! It was our pleasure! If you need anything else before the month is up, just ask for Mario and FLUDD!"

She waved goodbye, then she and her son took off.

The Officers were stunned.

I wiped away a tear, then reached out to touch the Shine, but before I could, a large metal hand grabbed it and yanked it away. I gasped, then turned around and gasped again.

There, standing in the bay, was a large Bowser Mech.

"A Bowser Robot?!" I was stunned. There had been almost no signs of Bowser's handiwork so far (apart from the obsession with kidnapping Peach), so this really came out of left field.

FLUDD scanned the device. "I can sense two life signs inside."

Suddenly, the top of the robot opened, revealing the cockpit and its occupants, Shadow Mario and –

"Princess Peach!" I shouted at the sight of my best friend (and potential love interest) in the clutches of the villain again.

She was tied up again, and she was in her pajamas, so her floating powers were useless.

Shadow Mario pulled some levers and hit some buttons, and the robot's hands quickly came around me, trapping me in their grip. The arms lifted me so I was eyelevel with my dark imposter.

"Who are you?! Are you Bowser?"

"No."

Both Peach and I were stunned into silence. The voice that came out of him was far too young.

He reached for his face and pulled apart his disguise (it was rather easy, considering it was paint). His blue façade gave way to reveal something that did resemble Bowser, but at a much earlier age. He also wore a bandana with a crudely drawn mouth on it, and all his hair was up in a ponytail-Mohawk combo.

"I'm not my dad!"

"Your dad!?" Neither of us were aware that Bowser had any kids (We'd thought the Koopalings were, but they were actually just hired by him).

"That's right! I'm Bowser Jr., and I'm here to steal back Mama Peach!"

And both of us laughed.

"What're you laughing at?" He asked, trying his best to sound intimidating.

Peach struggled to speak through her laughing, "You think I'm your mama?!"

"I know you're my mama! Dad told me so himself!"

This only made us laugh even harder.

"That's really sad!" I laughed.

Bowser Jr.'s face reddened.

"Look, kid," Peach said, "I'm pretty sure I'd know if I was your mama. After all, I'm the woman!"

"And what does that mean?" Obviously, he was still very young.

"Just – never mind, it's not worth discussing right now."

Bowser Jr. turned back to face me. "Look, I'm going to take her back now. And with this paintbrush, there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

I stopped laughing as he held up his paintbrush. FLUDD and I instantly recognized the logo emblazoned on the side.

"Prof. Gadd Labs!?" FLUDD and I shouted at the same time.

He pulled some levers at hit some buttons, and the robot winded up a throw that most likely would've ended up killing me, but before he could, I heard a familiar call.

Eldoris and her son had come back!

They landed right beside the mech and looked in at them.

"What're you doing?!" Bowser Jr. turned white at the sight of it.

"You should've waited until I was out of eyeshot to attack my friend."

Her son grabbed Bowser Jr. in his beak and spit him onto the beach. Then she pried the arms of the mech apart and caught me in her talon, and set me into the cockpit. I untied Peach (again).

"Thank you Mario! And, uh..." She looked at the towering Sand Birds that had just rescued them.

"I'm Eldoris. And this is my son, Pinna."

I chuckled at the realization that she'd named him after the place we found him. Peach petted Pinna, then they took off again.

"Now, what'll we do about this mech?" Peach asked.

I had an idea. "Maybe we can figure out how to work it, and with this thing under our control, keeping Bowser Jr. at bay will be a cakewalk!"

She nodded, and we headed over to the control panel. We quickly realized that there were a ton of buttons (I still can't understand how Jr. had operated this thing so effectively!). I pressed a button and she flipped a lever, and one of the legs kicked out, putting the robot off balance. We tried to get the leg back down, but only succeeded in kicking it out even further, and the robot toppled over into the ocean. We quickly climbed out and got back onto the shore, and we watched as the robot jerked and sputtered, then went motionless.

I chuckled, "So much for that idea. But hey, if every steak were perfect, we wouldn't get meatballs."

"That sounded like an out of place reference to something that doesn't exist yet," Peach pointed out.

"Hey, I've gotta fit in a meatball reference somewhere!"

Suddenly, Bowser Jr. screamed, "No, no, no! The sand bird was supposed to get mad and tear apart the island looking for her baby, or at least make a very difficult platforming level, but you ruined it!" He then screamed in anger, then pulled a radio out of his shell. The radio that I'd received from the Officer earlier (which was surprisingly intact, despite me getting trampled) caught his message: "Abort mission! Abort mission! Pick me up, then retreat to Corona Mountain!"

The boat that had picked him up earlier zoomed up to the beach, and Bowser Jr. jumped on. We tried to stop them, but the boat zoomed off again.

"Aw, darn!" Peach said, "He got away!"

"Well, at least he didn't get you." I chuckled, then added, "And now, we know where they're going."

Then a glimmer of light caught my eye. The Shine that Eldoris gave me (and the mech had subsequently grabbed) floated out from the remains of the mech and to the beach right beside us. We touched it, and soared off back to Delfino Plaza.

We landed on an empty space on the boardwalk (as a portal to Pinna Park had yet to be made), and headed to the hotel, exhausted.

It was the best sleep I'd had during our entire trip.


	11. Chapter 11 - Eternal Stars

I woke up the next morning well-rested and feeling relaxed. I took a hot shower, changed back into my normal clothes (as I was still wearing the prison uniform), and poured myself a hot cup of coffee.

But as I took the last sip, there was a knock at the door. I opened it, and gasped, dropping my mug.

"Hey, bro!" Luigi said, setting down his suitcase and giving me a hug.

"Luigi!?" I was flabbergasted. "What're you doing here?"

"Didn't you see the news?" He came in and turned on the TV, but the news wasn't on. "Huh, that's a first... Anyway, I heard all that stuff about you getting arrested, the Shadow Mario, the Bowser Mech —everything!"

"Right... And you're here because...?"

"I wanna help!"

"You do?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Luigi, a scaredy cat through and through, wanted to willingly join in on an adventure?

"Yeah! It's gotten kinda repetitive living at my mansion with the Professor. Oh, and speaking of which, he sent me with a message! I'd asked him how he knew that you'd need that FLUDD thing, and he told me that he accidentally sold a paintbrush he made to — get this — Bowser's son!"

"Wow, that explains a lot. I mean, I already learned about Bowser Jr."

"You did?" That seemed to kinda take the wind out of his sails a bit, but he quickly regained it when I explained what Bowser Jr. had said. "He really thinks that Peach is his mom?"

"Yeah, how ridiculous is that?"

"Well, what with the kidnappings, they do spend a lot of time together..."

I was appalled at the mere thought of it. "Luigi! She said so herself!"

"Ah, nevermind."

I shook my head and patted Luigi's.

Suddenly, FLUDD whirred back to life. "Charging complete."

Luigi looked over and saw him. "Oh, it's you!"

"Luigi!" FLUDD recognized him. "I haven't seen you since I was a little spray bottle!"

Luigi patted FLUDD's spray head.

Suddenly, Peach burst in. "Who wants to go have some fun at Pinna Park?"

Then she realized that Luigi was in the room. "Oh, hey, Luigi."

—

We got off the boat a half an hour later, and stepped into Pinna Park proper. There were a lot of Piantas, as well as tourists from lots of other places, standing in lines for the rides. From where we stood, I could see a carousel, a rollercoaster, two pirate ship-themed swings, a Ferris wheel, and the head of the Bowser Mech, which had been carried into the park and repurposed as a kind of "Freakish Anomalies" museum.

We paid for tickets and headed for the rides.

Long story short, we all had a great time. Luigi threw up a few times, but he still went on the wilder rides.

I had just gotten off of the Ship Swing, when I noticed a large egg sitting in the corner between a picnic table and the concession stands. I walked up to it and lightly touched it, surprised to discover that it was made of paint. Suddenly, it started to jerk around.

Then a female voice came from inside, "Help! A weird guy trapped me in this egg!"

I gasped, then decided to help. I tried to spray it with water, but it did nothing. I then looked around for something hard to help me break it open.

When I passed the concessions, I noticed that they had coconuts, so I bought one, and went back to the egg. I tried to smash open the shell with it, but the moment it touched the egg, it was drawn in, phasing through the shell. I heard the creature inside chewing, then suddenly, the egg split apart, freeing its victim.

When I saw what was inside, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a pinkish-white Yoshi!

"Thank y—" She stopped when he saw my face. "Wait, aren't you the guy that trapped me in here?!"

"No, no! The guy who trapped you disguised himself as me to ruin my reputation! Is it really that hard to tell us apart?"

"Well, I'm colorblind, so it's at least harder for me..." She calmed down. "I'm Yoshiki Kiyoshi, but you can call me Shiki."

"And I'm Mario Mario, but you can call me... Mario."

"And I'm FLUDD, a robotic water pump and Mario's partner in his quest to clear his name and stop the imposter."

Shiki blinked. "Alright, I'm just going to pretend I understood that. Anyway, I'm really thankful that you saved me!"

"I'm just glad I could help."

Yoshi looked around. "Where's my buffet?"

"Your buffet?" I was confused.

"Buffet, the collective noun for Yoshi."

"Oh, I get it; because Yoshi are known for their insatiable appetite."

"Yeah... My friends were all here, but now they're gone!" She gasped, "Did that bad guy kidnap them?!"

"I don't know," I admitted, "But I'll help you look for them."

"Really? Oh, then I really owe you!"

"Oh, it's no trouble. When I was a baby, I was rescued by a buffet of Yoshis, so I'm kinda like family"

"Wow, really?"

Before I could respond, Luigi came rushing past me, stopping at a trash can to throw up.

"Hey, Luigi! Once you're done, I've got something you can help me with!"

"Awesome," Luigi replied.


	12. Chapter 12 - Now Yoshi Them, Now YoDon't

After Peach and the Toads finished their day at the Park, I saw to it that they got back to the hotel safely, then met Shiki and Luigi in the town square.

"Alright, where did you last see your friends?" I asked Shiki.

"At Pinna Park," she responded, "We saw posters advertising the Fruit Festival, and went there to check it out."

"A Fruit Festival?" I asked. "I didn't hear of a Fruit Festival in Pinna Park."

"Then how do you explain this?" Yoshi reached under her saddle and pulled out a crudely drawn poster.

I looked over it, spotting several things wrong with it. "Well, firstly, this was obviously painted in less than five minutes. Secondly, it says, 'This trick was brought to you by The Bowser Corporation' on the bottom edge."

"Well, it's hard to see it when it matches the background so well!"

"It's a completely different color," FLUDD said.

"See? That's how colorblind we are!"

"And thirdly, it says 'Starting at 6:60 AM'. That time doesn't exist."

"Oh." Shiki hung her head in embarrassment. "That, I'll admit, was a stupid thing to miss."

"Well, at least now, we know how he was able to capture them all," Luigi pointed out.

"And I think I know where he might've taken them," I added, bringing out a map. I spread it out on the ground for all of us to see. "Last night, I heard Bowser Jr. order a 'retreat to Corona Mountain'. Which is right there," I located it on the map and pointed to it. "If I'm right, then that'll be the best place to start looking."

"Or maybe you could just look up!" a fourth voice called out, startling us. We looked up and saw none other than Bowser Jr. himself, no longer masquerading as Shadow Mario.

"You!" I exclaimed at the sight of him. "What've you done with the Yoshis?"

"They're all right here," he said, bringing out a remote controller and pushing a joystick. From behind him came a Bowser-themed helicopter, with a large bag (carrying all the Yoshis in their eggs) in tow.

Shiki gasped. "Let them go!"

Bowser Jr. fakely considered it for a moment. "Hmm… Nah! But you know what I am going to do? I'm going to get the Yoshi I missed, and then, I'm going to bring them to my dad, and put them to work in our master plan! With their special properties, we'll be unstoppable!"

"Special properties?" I asked. "You mean their appetite?"

Bowser Jr. did a double-take. "No! I'm talking about — actually, why don't I demonstrate?" He pressed a button on the controller, and the helicopter stopped. A hatch in the bottom of it opened up and out came a tube, which reached into the bag and sucked up one of the Yoshis.

"No!" Shiki yelled out, then strained to do something (I didn't know what at the time), but failed.

The tube retracted and the hatch closed, then two Koopas opened a side door and pointed a hose towards us.

Shiki knew what was about to happen. "Move!" she shoved Luigi and me to the side, then jumped out of the way just as the Koopas turned on the hose and sprayed a scalding yellow liquid out. She'd barely managed to get out of the splash zone in time.

"What was that?!" I was bewildered, confused, and a bit dazed from being pushed aside so suddenly. "Please tell me it's not -"

Luigi sniffed the air. "Banana?"

Shiki quickly explained, "As a defense mechanism, the Yoshis on Isle Delfino developed a process where we turn some of the food we eat into a scalding liquid that we can shoot out of our mouths!"

"What, really?" Luigi asked.

Then I had an idea. "Shiki, can you spray Bowser Jr. with some of that to teach him a lesson?"

She then became hesitant. "Actually, I've never been able to do it."

Luigi and I snapped our fingers in a 'Darn it' moment.

Bowser Jr., hearing this, said, "What? Then why am I wasting my time here? Later, losers!" He grabbed onto to bag and swiveled the joystick. The helicopter began to turn around.

In an act of desperation, I jumped onto Shiki and pushed on the back of her neck, causing her to spray a concentrated stream of pink juice (it smelled like coconuts) at the helicopter. Some of the liquid got onto the ropes that held the bag, weakening them until they snapped. With that, Bowser Jr. and the Yoshi eggs fell to the sand below.

"Curse word!" Boswer Jr. exclaimed. "I really should've made a Yoshi-capturing net that was Yoshi-proof. Oh well, live and learn." He pressed a button on the controller, expecting the helicopter to come back, but it didn't. "Wait, what?" He looked at the controller's battery compartment, and found it empy. "The batteries are...?" He looked back up at the helicopter and saw the two Koopas laughing (evidently, they pranked him by making him think he was controlling the helicopter when he wasn't

He angrily got up, brandished his paintbrush, and made a portal, then jumped through, the portal evaporating behind him. A moment later, the two Koopas were flung out of the helicopter, as Bowser Jr. had appeared in it, and it flew off, leaving the Koopas dazed on the beach.

I, meanwhile, was standing there watching in a confused silence.

Shiki snapped me out of it when she ran to the pile of Yoshi Eggs, yelling, "Guys! Don't worry, we'll get you out!"

Luigi and I ran over to the nearby market, where we bought all the fruit we could carry (Luigi was still very rich from his Mansion exploits), and brought it all back, freeing every Yoshi in the same way that we'd freed Shiki.

Shiki hugged one of the Yoshis. "Are you okay, Mom?" Shiki asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm alright!" She said. "So I'm guessing there's no Fruit Festival?

"It was a trick created by Bowser Jr. to capture us and use our juice for evil. But luckily, M—"

I interrupted, "Luckily, _Shiki_ here was able to break out and use her amazing ability to free you all! We're just here because we were helping her get the fruit that saved you!"

Shiki and Luigi both looked at me quizzically.

Shiki's mom was ecstatic. "You juiced?! That's my girl!" She rubbed Shiki's head.

Shiki looked at me. "But Mario, —"

I continued, "Don't worry; We can just buy more fruit. You don't owe us _anything_."

Shiki finally understood what I was doing. She smiled warmly at me, then her mom led her back into the buffet, where she started telling them "what went down". I smiled, my work done, and we started to head back to the hotel.

Luigi looked at me. "Y'know, you might just be the most humble super hero I've ever met."

I smiled.

Suddenly, FLUDD piped up, "ALERT! ALERT!"

I looked up at him. "What is it, FLUDD?"

"Nothing, I just haven't spoken in a while."

We all chuckled.


	13. Chapter 13 - Luigi is Missing!

When we got back to the hotel room, I immediately collapsed on to the bed and fell asleep.

When I awoke, it was 8:30 PM, and Princess Peach was shaking me.

"Mario, wake up! Luigi's missing!"

That sure woke me up.

I sprang to my feet and ran around the hotel, calling for Luigi. When that didn't work, I extended the search to the entirety of Delfino Plaza.

When a half hour passed and there still wasn't any sign of him, I regrouped with Peach.

"Where's he gone?" She nervously wondered.

"I don't know," I admitted, taking off my hat and scratching my head.

FLUDD interjected, "Mario, look! In your hat!"

I looked in my hat, and was surprised to discover a note. I unfolded it and read it:

_"Dear pesky plumber, my minions and I have done something truly evil! Luigi is now a permanent guest at one of my seven Koopa h— no wait, that's not right. But he is in a hotel somewhere. I dare you to find him if you can! ~ Bowser Jr."_

"We've gotta find Luigi!" I said.

"And you've gotta help us!" Peach added, pointing off in a random direction.

FLUDD, confused, asked, "What're you doing?"

Peach and I looked at each other and laughed at our inside joke. I told FLUDD, "You **REALLY** don't wanna know."

—

Peach laid down a map onto the table. "Alright, there are 3 total hotels on this island. We already know he isn't at this one, so we can rule it out. That leaves us with the hotels in Noki Bay and Sirena Beach."

"You take Noki Bay, and I'll search Sirena Beach."

She nodded and put away the map, and we both headed out.

I stopped in the town square and asked FLUDD, "Can you detect a quick way to get to Sirena Beach, like a portal or something?"

FLUDD scanned the area. "Scan successful. Shortcut to Sirena Beach found." He pointed his nozzle at one of the buildings, and I followed his directions.

But when I found it, I discovered a problem:

The portal was inside of a pipe that was blocked off by a giant pineapple.

I tried to move it with my bare hands; I tried using FLUDD in various ways; I even busted out a plunger, but all to no avail.

Then I heard the sound of about twenty pairs of legs running nearby, and it gave me an idea.

I found the source of the noise, the buffet of Yoshis I'd rescued before, running down the street about 25 yards away from the blockage.

"Hey, fellas!" I called out. They all turned to look at me, then they looked past me and saw the gigantic Pineapple. "Dig in!" I added.

They came running like how a chef runs to a burning dish. The pineapple was gone within seconds, then they all scurried off.

Well, all but Shiki.

"Mario!" She hugged me like she hadn't seen me in years. "What're you doing unblocking this pipe?"

"Luigi's been kidnapped, and he's being held at one of two hotels, one of which is through this conveniently placed portal."

"Say no more; I'm coming with."

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

"But I want to. Besides, I know you said I don't owe you anything, but I still feel like I do."

She smiled at me, and I smiled back, and we jumped into the pipe.


	14. Chapter 14 - Sirena Beach Haunting

When we came out, we found ourselves in the garden of a luxurious hotel. I mean, our hotel was luxurious, but this was on another level. At 7 stories high and 75 meters in length and width, it was about 20% larger than ours, and with the sprawling garden outside (which was laid out in a very familiar shape, I might add), it made our hotel seem like a log cabin in comparison!  
FLUDD, Shiki, and I stood for a moment, marvelling at all this, before we noticed one of the drawbacks:  
Ghosts. The place was crawling with them. Just from where I stood, I could see at least 15 Boos. If Luigi really was there, then he'd no doubt be scared witless.  
We walked up to a Pianta dressed in a tuxedo, and I asked him, "What's with all the ghosts?"  
The Pianta, clearly trying to remain calm in the face of all these spectres, replied, "W-we don't know; they just appeared twenty minutes ago, no explanation, warnings, n-nothing!" As he finished that sentence, he broke down and started crying in fright. Shiki and I looked at each other, then hesitantly headed inside.  
The moment we stepped foot into the lobby, we were greeted by a barrage of Boos trying their darnedest to scare us. Jumpscares, disturbing imagery, existential terror, manifestations of guilt for past misdeeds, and clowns were thrown at us left and right.  
Now, I'd like to think that, having recently been trapped in a painting by an evil Spectre, I was less affected by the scares, and was able to drag us both through the terror.  
But if I'm being completely honest, I fell apart at the seams. Something about seeing everything I've ever done wrong — mistreating all those Yoshis and those Toads, my jealousy whenever Luigi'd beat me, and that horrible phase of my life where I couldn't keep a job for more than five hours — was just too much to handle all at once. Shiki had to drag me out of the hotel because it was too much of a shock.  
"I-I-I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." was all I could manage to whimper.  
"Mario, snap out of it!" Shiki shook me, then slapped my face, bringing me out of my crippled state.  
And then I blurted out, "I'm supposed to be a hero that everyone likes, but I've done so many bad things in my life! I destroyed Toads that were turned into brick blocks, ripped off the limbs of a squid who just wanted to nap, and worst of all, I've forced my brother to take a backseat his whole life just so I could have the spotlight! That's not what a hero is, and if I'm not a hero, then who am I!?"  
Shiki was taken aback. Then she grabbed me by the shoulders and said firmly, "Mario, you _are_ a hero! You saved my entire family from a life of slavery!"  
"But I've let so many others fall just to save my own skin! And after they did so much for me!"  
"Your mistakes don't determine who you are! Look at me; I was the one who led my family and friends into that trap! And that's not all; I've accidentally led predators to our dens, gotten the wrong herbs for medicines, and I made some very... *questionable* choices during my teen years. But I learned from those experiences and made up for them, and now, I'm better because of it! You're a product not of your mistakes, but of what you're willing to do to atone for them. You feel awful about what you've done, which shows just how much better you are than them, and how much you want to change!"  
I looked at her, still unsure.  
"And, if it makes you feel better, I forgive you."  
I looked up at her, and she smiled warmly. She took my hand and helped me up.  
"Thanks," I said lightly, "I needed that."  
Then a collective groan sounded out around us. We looked and saw that the Boos had listened to us, and were now gagging.  
One of them said, "Geez, ya took out all the fun! C'mon, guys, let's scram."  
With that, they began to leave. But before he did, the Boo added, "Oh, and here's your Shine or whatever," and tossed a Shine onto the ground in front of us.  
FLUDD glanced at it, then realized what it was, and said, "Oh, right – _Shine detected_!"  
"But what about Luigi?" I called after the Boo.  
"Never seen him," he called back, and with that, they were all gone.  
I looked to Shiki with dread, then we both grabbed the Shine, and we flew back to Delfino Plaza.

When we got there, Peach was already waiting for us.  
"I found him!" Peach cheered, stepping aside to reveal Luigi.  
"Luigi! Thank goodness you're okay!" I then looked at Peach, and saw that she was covered in bruises. "What happened to you?"  
"You should've seen what I had to do to get him back; frankly, I'm sorry you missed out!"  
I collapsed to my knees and shouted, **"NOOO! CURSE YOU, LIMITED FIRST-PERSON PERSPECTIVE!"**  
Peach and Luigi laughed. "Alright, we'll tell you about it," she said, then she began to explain in great detail what had happened.


End file.
